One of the men behind the Woodstock Festival plans another creative venture—a music college—near the same upstate New York community that hosted the landmark rock concert 44 years ago.

Michael Lang, co-creator of the famed festival, is teaming up with Paul Green, the music educator often credited as the inspiration for actor Jack Black’s character in “School of Rock,” to found the Woodstock College of Music.

The venture between Messrs. Lang and Green—the latter of whom opened more than 57 schools before selling his nationwide chain of music academies in 2009—is slated to start in 2014.

Students will be exposed to all aspects of the music industry and will not have majors, Mr. Green said, an approach designed to prepare students for a career in a business where the likeliest path to stardom these days seems to be auditioning for a reality show or uploading a video to YouTube.

“Everyone who comes here is going to learn how to write, play, record, produce, arrange, engineer, legally protect and shop their music,” Mr. Green said. “We basically want everyone who comes in through these doors to leave here a Stevie Wonder.”

A guitarist in several late-’80s and early-’90s rock bands, Mr. Green has a long history in music education. He opened the first Paul Green School of Rock Music in 1997 in Philadelphia, when he was 25. The after-school program used Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd to instruct his young charges and attracted media attention.

And though the screenwriter for “School of Rock” has said hard-rocking teacher Dewey Finn isn’t based on Mr. Green, many have noted similarities. (Mr. Green says his connection to the hit film “depends on who you ask.”)

The exposure from “School of Rock” helped his business, and he began opening schools across the nation. But in 2009, he decided to sell the chain because he felt that he was spending more time administrating than teaching.

Mr. Green wanted to turn his attention to older students who find the present-day music industry unreceptive.

Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal

Woodstock Festival co-creator Michael Lang with Paul Green.

He initially tried to re-create the creative process of bands like the Rolling Stones—who would rent a house and spend months recording there—by outfitting a mansion on Long Island with a recording studio for 17 of his graduates.

But his six-month test run found that the teens just hung out until they were presented with projects to work on and producers to work with, and then, “they learned more about recording music, writing music, arranging music, than anybody who I’d ever seen who’d gone to a music college before.”

Mr. Green began scouting for locations and contacted Mr. Lang, whom he first met when Mr. Lang produced a 2009 documentary about the 40th anniversary of the festival, held on a farm in Bethel, N.Y., featuring Mr. Green’s students.

“He definitely has a unique ability to communicate with kids and teach music,” Mr. Lang said about why he chose to join forces with Mr. Green.

The Woodstock College of Music so far has been funded by the founders, Mr. Green said, though they are seeking additional funds from private backers. The goal is to open as a two-year professional school for about 50 students as the founders wind through the state Department of Education’s process to become a degree-granting institution for 400 students. The founders’ aim is that credits for the two-year program will be transferable to four-year colleges.

While Mr. Green has extensive experience in music education, Kathleen Getz, dean of the Quinlan School of Business at the Loyola University Chicago, says there are other considerations when opening a new school, including whether the school meets needs that other programs don’t.

“Having a great idea isn’t enough,” said Ms. Getz. “You need to ensure that there’s a market for what you offer.”

Messrs. Green and Lang plan to draw on their industry connections.

Instructors will include Yes lead singer Jon Anderson and Ween frontman Aaron Freeman, who will teach songwriting. Besides Messrs. Green and Lang, the college’s partners includes Los Angeles-based entrepreneur David Jarrett, who will serve as chief operating officer, and Bill Reichblum, a former dean of Bennington College, the academic advisor.

Some locals see the college as a potential boon for Woodstock.

Meira Blaustein, the co-founder and executive director of the Woodstock Film Festival, said the new college could help ensure that musicians will continue to make Woodstock their home.

“There is a saying that if you throw a rock in the town of Woodstock, you’re bound to hit a musician,” Ms. Blaustein said. “But the generations are always changing, and Paul’s music college will be integral to a whole new generation of talents.”

The college is slated to be situated inside the same facility as the Paul Green Rock Academy—a year-round music education program that Mr. Green opened because he missed working with youngsters—in Saugerties, only a few miles from Woodstock.

When asked how the Woodstock College of Music would compare to elite music universities such as the Juilliard School of Music, Mr. Green laughed.

“We’d love to be Juilliard,” he said. “We want to be the Juilliard of popular music.”

Corrections & amplifications: The Woodstock Festival was held at a farm in Bethel, N.Y. An earlier version of this article imprecisely described the location of the festival.